Happy New Year!

Wishing every day of the new year to be filled with success, happiness and prosperity for you - Happy New Year!

Registration Open for SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing Edition 8.1 - Jan 22 & Jan 23

NAPA: SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing Edition 8.1

Wed, Jan 22, 2020 - Thu, Jan 23, 2020

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Napa Valley College

2277 Napa Vallejo Highway Bldg 3000, Rm 3004

Napa, CA 94558

REGISTER HERE

Description

Attention food manufacturing professionals!

In partnership with Superior Food Safety, Napa Valley College is hosting this timely and important 2-Day workshop on Developing and Implementing SQF Systems Edition 8.1.

Through the California Employment Training Panel (ETP), Napa Valley College is able to offer a discount of $475 to qualified companies. Click on the following link - https://tinyurl.com/ybf76a6a and complete application to see if your company is eligible for an ETP discount (please note that an ETP 104 form must also be completed for each attendee from your company). After your forms are completed, please send all forms to Valerie Bible (707) 256-7250 / VBible@napavalley.edu. Once you are certified, you will receive the code to register for the ETP pricing of $250. If you are already ETP certified and need a code, please contact Valerie Bible (707) 256-7250/VBible@napavalley.edu.

SQF Code, Edition 8.1 introduces a new approach for assessing individual food industry sectors with customized requirements in separate, stand-alone codes: Food Safety Fundamentals, Primary Production (Produce), Manufacturing, Distribution, Food Packaging, Retail, and Quality.

Attend this two-day course offered by Napa Valley College.

Course Description:

• Promote an understanding of the SQF Code.
• Create a knowledge base to facilitate the successful implementation of an SQF System and understand the process for aligning with FSMA regulatory requirements.
• Show how a HACCP-based approach manages food safety and quality hazards in an operation.
• The SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing applies specifically to Food Sector Categories 7-22, 31-34 and includes Modules 2 (Systems Elements) and Module 11 (Food Safety Fundamentals for Food Manufacturing).
• Designed to provide current and new SQF Practitioners, Sr. Management, Production Personnel, and their team members with the tools and knowledge to develop and maintain their SQF food safety management system and understand the process for aligning with FSMA regulatory requirements

Who Should Attend?
SQFP, Food Safety Professionals, Sr. Management, Suppliers, Food Safety Auditors, Support Staff. Two Day Course: Wednesday, January 22nd and Thursday, January 23rd from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM each day. Price Includes event registration, morning and afternoon snack breaks, lunch for both days, course materials and certificate of attendance.

Questions? Contact Charlie Monahan at 707-256-7254 or cmonahan@napavalley.edu.

All training events require a minimum number of students and, therefore subject to cancellation 48 hours in advance of the training event. Registered students will receive an email at the time of cancellation. All fees are refundable up to 24 hours before the training event.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

May the joys of the season shed light, hope and fill our hearts with peace.

Undeclared Allergens Top Cause of FDA and USDA Food Recalls

Stericycle released its Q3 2019 Recall Index last month. The following are the key takeaways:

FDA Food Recalls

• Recalled food units increased 319.5% to 8.8 million
• 21.5% had nationwide distribution
• Top food categories
• Prepared foods: 24

1. Produce: 19
2. Flavoring: 14
3. Seafood: 12

• Undeclared allergens were the top cause at 35.5%
• Foreign material were top cause of units impacted at 47%

USDA Recalls

• Decreased 25% to 24
• Affected 537,000 pounds
• Top Categories

1. Poultry: 33%
2. Beef: 21%
3. Pork: 12.5%
4. Seafood: 4.2%

• However, this category came out on top for recalls by pound, at 22.6% of recalled pounds

Top Reasons

1. Undeclared allergen: 37.5%
2. Bacterial contamination: 21%
3. Foreign material: 17%

Article Source: https://foodsafetytech.com/news_article/undeclared-allergens-top-cause-of-fda-and-usda-food-recalls/

On-Site Private Classes in English & Spanish and Consulting Services

Classes Available in English & Spanish and Consulting Services

WE OFFER PUBLIC AND ON-SITE TRAINING CLASSES:

• HACCP Workshop
• Implementing SQF Training - Version 8.0 - English and Spanish
• FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Foods
• FSPCA For Human Food Compliance
• Produce Safety Rule Training Official Program
• SQF Quality Systems For Food Manufacturers
• Internal and External GFSI Audits
• Crisis Management
• Gluten-Free Certification Program
• SQF Advanced Practitioner Course
• Prerequisite Programs

WE ALSO OFFER:

Food Safety Consulting Services

We offer On-Site private classes in English and Spanish. Please email us for a quote: info@superiorfoodsafety.com

REMINDER: Register for January's Internal & External GFSI Audit Workshop

NAPA: Internal & External GFSI Audit Workshop - 1 Day Course

Date And Time

Fri, January 24, 2020

8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Location

Napa Valley College

2277 Napa Vallejo Highway, BLDG 3000, RM 3004

Napa, CA 94558

Register HERE

Description
In partnership with Superior Food Safety, Napa Valley College is hosting this timely and important workshop.

Through the California Employment Training Panel (ETP), Napa Valley College is able to offer a discount of $295 to qualified companies. Click on the following link - https://tinyurl.com/ybf76a6a and complete application to see if your company is eligible for an ETP discount (please note that an ETP 104 form must also be completed for each attendee from your company). After your forms are completed, please send all forms to Valerie Bible (707) 256-7250 / VBible@napavalley.edu. Once you are certified, you will receive the code to register for the ETP pricing of $180. If you are already ETP certified and need a code, please contact Valerie Bible (707) 256-7250/VBible@napavalley.edu.

Provide and improve the knowledge, skills, and abilities required by GFSI auditors, food industry professionals and internal auditors on:

• Food Safety Management Systems
• Good Manufacturing Practices and Good Agricultural Practices
• HACCP Program
• Review ISO-19011 Auditing Principles
• Gain an understanding of the GFSI schemes (SQF, BRC, FSSC2200, Global G.A.P.) from the auditor point of view

Who Should Attend? 

• SQF, BRC, Global G.A.P., Internal Auditors, Consultants and Professionals looking to register as GFSI-qualified auditors, Quality Assurance Managers, and Supervisors, Personnel involved in Production, Purchasing, Procurement, Human Resources, Harvesting, Packing, Transport, Distribution and Sales of Food Products.

MSc. Oscar Camacho has more than 28 years of experience managing food safety and quality systems. Mr. Camacho's special insights come from years of first-hand experience in the food industry, and from client weaknesses, he identified and solved while providing auditing and consulting services.

All training events require a minimum number of students and, therefore subject to cancellation 48 hours in advance of the training event. Registered students will receive an email at the time of cancellation. All fees are refundable up to 24 hours before the training event.

HOW P&S FROZEN FOODS REDUCED AUDIT TIME BY 88% VIA AUTOMATED TRACEABILITY: A CASE STUDY

Superior Food Safety has partnered with Icicle Technologies Inc. to bring Icicle, a smart food manufacturing software, to the food & beverage and the growing industries.

Pastry Production at P&S Frozen Foods

We called up Paul Tolnai, Operations Manager at P&S Frozen Foods, to see how their food safety journey was going and how Icicle was empowering them to thrive after being acquired. What we discovered was impressive – among other things, the facility had dramatically reduced their inspection times more than even we would have expected.

Meet P&S Frozen Foods

P&S Frozen Foods started as a family-owned business in Kelowna, British Columbia over three decades ago. Their mission was to blend Hungarian-style pastry with British-style sausage rolls and turn it into a frozen product that could be finished at home. The product became a huge success.

“What we do is we take a very difficult product to make at home and we do the hard part; all the customer has to do is put it in their oven and take all the glory.” -Paul Tolnai, Operations Manager

With their own production facility, they were able to branch out into other products and developed a brand with a wildly loyal following. Their food was so good that every now and then they still get calls from customers asking about their favorite products, even those that were discontinued decades ago.

In 2016, P&S Frozen Foods was acquired by two companies that needed a facility to produce Asian-inspired comfort foods, like potstickers and wontons, and it has turned out to be a great collaboration. The company is now growing faster than ever, expanding into new product categories, and thriving as a business. But the acquisition wouldn’t have even been possible if Paul hadn’t been proactive about food safety back in 2012.

The Challenge: 90 Minutes With An Inspector Every Single Day 

Times were changing for food safety, but most companies were – and are – still working on paper. As Paul noted, “We will kill a whole forest to check the temperature of a freezer every day.” But these changes don’t always come easy; it is necessary to make the fundamental shift to trusting the right software to do the work.

There was also the issue of the dollars and cents; big customers like Sobey’s, the second largest food retailer in Canada, require their suppliers to have higher levels of food safety and quality through third-party certifications like SQF. Paul attended an SQF training program, but by the time it was over, he realized there was no way he could get certified on his own. He was far too bogged down by other business and food safety responsibilities, including 90 minutes daily with a federal inspector from the CFIA. He knew the way forward was to digitize his food safety processes. His pen and paper systems were just too inefficient. They were the roadblock to growth.

“We literally wrote down lot codes on one piece of paper. And when we put it into production it was put on three pieces of paper and they had to somehow balance out. It’s shocking how much we had to do just to make an invoice.” -Paul Tolnai, Operations Manager

He needed digital backups, he needed better lot code tracking, he needed to get away from the inefficient spreadsheets – and he had no starting point in the current paradigm of the business. Paul knew there had to be some sort of software that could empower him to finally get on top of food safety and recordkeeping in general, so he started looking.

Research brought Paul to a few software solutions online. He downloaded a couple and tried setting things up for a few days. It was a struggle – there were no guides, no customer support, no information at all. And then Paul realized why: the software he was trying to use were just glorified Word processors. They weren’t really all that different from what he was already doing, and they weren’t capable of empowering Paul in the ways he most needed.

So Paul did what most did back in 2011. He went back to his own spreadsheets, disappointed. Thankfully, Gerry Gerbasi, a food safety consultant working with P&S, had another idea.

The Best Solution is Always in the Last Place You Look: 

How Paul Found Icicle Food Production Software Gerry referred Paul to Icicle. As a new company, Icicle was in beta testing at the time and focused mainly on food safety elements like automated HACCP plans, but that was just the thing Paul had been looking for. More specifically, Paul was looking for a food manufacturing solution that was built to put not sales or accounting but food safety first.

“The industry is demanding more from food companies and we used Icicle to get there.”-Paul Tolnai, Operations Manager

We worked with Paul to bring P&S Frozen Foods’ food safety plans into Icicle, systemize inventory management, and train their staff. In just a few weeks, P&S was running a cloud-based, connected system that would make audits and food safety easier than they could have ever imagined with old school spreadsheets.

When Paul first started using Icicle in the very first stages of development, he had it set up to generate HACCP plans and prepare for audits and inspections but didn’t use it day-to-day. Since then, the software has grown immensely through the feedback of valuable beta users like Paul. Today, the staff at P&S Frozen Foods use Icicle all day and every day, Paul told us. The company now has not only food safety, but a complete warehouse management solution that they dreamed of – and more.

At Paul’s request, we added features to meet the needs of P&S over the years:

• Adjusted For Compliance: CFIA wanted establishments to identify exact physical locations on the plant for where cross-contamination hazard could occur. When Paul realized Icicle didn’t have this ability yet (no one did), we built the functionality needed in under 48 hours.
• Automated Inventory Reports: With inventory managed in Icicle, we were able to automate report creation for Paul. This saved him hours of time each week and helped him optimize raw ingredient ordering.
• Inventory Unit Conversions: Previously, the shipper or receiver had to constantly convert from kilos to pounds, etc. Icicle now converts inventory units automatically so that P&S’s staff doesn’t have to devote brain power to what computers do better – automation.
• Purchase Orders and Receiving: When P&S Frozen Foods’ new owners asked for purchase orders and shipping receipts that had previously been unnecessary, Icicle was able to roll out this new feature quickly so Paul could improve his traceability systems even further. During the work with Icicle creator Steve Burton, Paul wondered…why don’t we integrate shipping and receiving logs so that Icicle can just populate the information without manual transcription? This was a great suggestion and that’s how Paul’s suggestion formed the basis for a whole series of convenient new, interconnected features in Icicle.

“In just a short time, Icicle went from basically a nice way to present a HACCP plan to auditor to total warehouse management. All our staff now log in to Icicle and use it. From the beta phase to now, Icicle is on the leading edge and dropping new features that we didn’t even know we needed.” -Paul Tolnai, Operations Manager

Within a year, P&S Frozen Foods was running a tight operation with all their data connected and stored in the cloud – and the rewards were significant.

The Result: Automation Saves Time and Money and Dramatically Reduces Audit and Inspection Times 

For Paul, the benefits of implementing Icicle were pretty obvious right from the start.

“Automation takes a lot of my workload off my hands. Before Icicle, I’d sit with a binder to verify every document, spend days of my life signing these things that could have been digitally verified. Now it’s one click and done. It made no sense in hindsight to do it that way.” -Paul Tolnai, Operations Manager

In addition to relieving Paul’s daily workload, P&S Frozen Foods was able to be a lot more efficient in all sorts of ways. For one, because Icicle is hosted in the most secure cloud in the world, his employees can finish their work on their phones while riding the bus, get meeting updates remotely as minutes are uploaded into the cloud, and answer client requests when they’re not in the office. Another benefit is that P&S used to have two full-time bookkeepers at two different sites. With Icicle, they can easily maintain a single offsite bookkeeper part-time because all the documents are managed automatically in the cloud. Most importantly, they also save money by preventing major errors that are a constant hazard to the food industry as a whole:

“Anyone who runs a food business knows that one of the toughest parts of the job is to have the right orders at the right time and ensure that they are coming in on time. If you have a delivery of $30,000 on the dock and you can’t print the shipping receipt, it makes perfect sense to have a cloud-based system that can help you side-step the problem altogether. If you have 12 people waiting to do the work and they can’t start because one ingredient is missing and they’re waiting for someone to run to the supplier and come back…I weep for the amount of money wasted. It’s totally avoidable. A good warehouse management solution is able to help us keep track of all of this and Icicle is able to do it for us.” -Paul Tolnai, Operations Manager

Balancing Expectations of Different Auditors, Inspectors, and Clients

Icicle has improved P&S Frozen Foods’ ability to respond to the needs of their clients and regulatory agencies. Balancing all of these expectations is no easy task. As Paul pointed out to us, there is a sense in which food safety is subjective. On the base level, auditors will see things the same way, but they have different ideas about preventative measures. With Icicle, Paul can lay out all sorts of different options without having to implement them in his facility. He can run tests, keep track of data, and show the auditor all the information they want to prove that he has met his obligations.

“Icicle has made it much easier to bridge the gap between the needs of the company, the requirements of third-party auditors, and the requirements of federal inspectors, because they’re not always the same!” -Paul Tolnai, Operations Manager

This is especially useful when it comes to inspections and the time spent on them per day. Due to Canada’s heavy regulation of the meat industry, the daily inspection from CFIA took 90 minutes on average. The inspector would arrive, ask questions, and Paul would have to chase down documents. But with Icicle, the auditor could view most of the essential documents remotely from his office. They show up for a few final daily checks and are out the door in ten minutes, reducing inspection times by an astonishing 88%.

Paul’s SQF audit, when it came around, was no different. Successfully obtaining SQF certification was crucial for P&S Frozen Food’s business because big customers like Sobey’s require SQF from all their suppliers. Without Icicle, Paul knew that they would have to hire a QC person to organize all their files. With Icicle, securing SQF certification was laughably easy (literally).

When the audit came to the traceability test, Paul was all ready to go: using Icicle, he ran through the requested traceability test in minutes. The first 30 minutes of the traceability test, however, was spent in a confusing back-and-forth with the auditor before they understood what had happened. The auditor was asking a question without understanding that the answer was already up on the screen – in fact, the information was readily available before he’d even finished asking the question. Needless to say, P&S Frozen Foods passed their first SQF audit with flying colours.

"At the stage we were at when we implemented Icicle, I don’t think we would have passed SQF audit with the score we did and that would have lost us millions of dollars in business.” -Paul Tolnai, Operations Manager

Icicle’s benefits didn’t end there. This past summer, Paul was caught off guard when he found out that their SQF audit would now also look at threat and vulnerability assessments. The Icicle team happened to introduce TACCP and VACCP plans weeks before P&S Frozen Food’s audit and, because Icicle is built to grow with your business and easily adapts to new regulations, Paul was able to get his TACCP and VACCP plan in order before the audit, saving them from losing costly points with the auditor.

The Regulations are Coming!

One of the things that stands out to Paul about Icicle is its ability to help him adapt quickly and easily to increasing regulations, especially as the Safe Food for Canadians Act came into effect for most food companies this year. The meat and poultry industries are the most regulated in the country, and for good reason – so many things can go wrong! For that reason, other food companies should look to the meat industry for queues of what’s to come. Many of the requirements in the new regulations have been in effect for P&S Frozen Foods for years because of the inherent risks and hazards of the sector. Other companies need to be afraid of the Safe Food for Canadians Act, Paul told us, and they will need a fast solution to meet regulatory requirements.

We asked Paul if he had any advice to other food companies:

“What could go wrong with Icicle? The only thing I can think of is that new users won’t take the help of the Icicle team to get started. You need to buy in and have someone train your staff properly. At the end of the day, your products and customer service can only get better. From a small family-owned business like we were all the way to the largest corporations, the integrity and ease of access of your data is crucial for your business going forward. Icicle is necessary for your success.” -Paul Tolnai, Operations Manager

Article Source: Icicle Technologies

REMINDER - 2020 Classes Available for Registration!

CLASSES AVAILABLE at Napa Valley College

January 22, 23, 2020
SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing Ed. 8.1
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

January 24, 2020
Internal & External GFSI Audit Workshop
Regular Price $475, ETP Price $180

February 20, 21, 2020
Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP)
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

March 18, 19, 20, 2020
FSPCA/PCQI Food Safety Preventive Controls for Human Foods
Regular Price $850, ETP Price $300

April 16, 17, 2020
Basic HACCP Workshop for Manufactures
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

May 13, 14, 2020
SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing Edition 8.1
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

May 15, 2020
Internal and External GFSI Audits Workshop
Regular Price $475, ETP Price $180

June 11, 12, 2020
SQF Advanced Practitioner (Registration will open in Spring 2020)
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

CLASSES AVAILABLE at Butte College Training Place

January 17, 2020 *NEW DATE

PSA Produce Safety Rule

For Price Email: The Training Place

January 29, 30 and 31, 2020

FSPCA Food Safety Preventive Controls for Manufacturers

For Price Email: The Training Place

All SQF classes are official, advertised by SQF, and provided by Superior Food Safety a SQF Licensed Training Center. 

All Food Safety Preventive Controls for Human Food classes are authorized and posted by FSPCA, and provided by Oscar Camacho a FSPCA Lead Instructor.

The fees to attend these classes are subsidized through a joint venture between Napa Valley College-Superior Food Safety and funded by ETP-Employment Training Panel Program of California.

PRICE STARTS AT $180.00 + Administrative Fees PER CLASS (See each link below for details)

Please DOWNLOAD, COMPLETE and SUBMIT the forms below to CMonahan@napavalley.edu before you begin the registration process.

Certification Application
Employment Training Panel

Registration Open for SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing Edition 8.1 - Jan 22 & Jan 23

NAPA: SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing Edition 8.1

Wed, Jan 22, 2020 - Thu, Jan 23, 2020

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Napa Valley College

2277 Napa Vallejo Highway Bldg 3000, Rm 3004

Napa, CA 94558

REGISTER HERE

Description

Attention food manufacturing professionals!

In partnership with Superior Food Safety, Napa Valley College is hosting this timely and important 2-Day workshop on Developing and Implementing SQF Systems Edition 8.1.

Through the California Employment Training Panel (ETP), Napa Valley College is able to offer a discount of $475 to qualified companies. Click on the following link - https://tinyurl.com/ybf76a6a and complete application to see if your company is eligible for an ETP discount (please note that an ETP 104 form must also be completed for each attendee from your company). After your forms are completed, please send all forms to Valerie Bible (707) 256-7250 / VBible@napavalley.edu. Once you are certified, you will receive the code to register for the ETP pricing of $250. If you are already ETP certified and need a code, please contact Valerie Bible (707) 256-7250/VBible@napavalley.edu.

SQF Code, Edition 8.1 introduces a new approach for assessing individual food industry sectors with customized requirements in separate, stand-alone codes: Food Safety Fundamentals, Primary Production (Produce), Manufacturing, Distribution, Food Packaging, Retail, and Quality.

Attend this two-day course offered by Napa Valley College.

Course Description:

• Promote an understanding of the SQF Code.
• Create a knowledge base to facilitate the successful implementation of an SQF System and understand the process for aligning with FSMA regulatory requirements.
• Show how a HACCP-based approach manages food safety and quality hazards in an operation.
• The SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing applies specifically to Food Sector Categories 7-22, 31-34 and includes Modules 2 (Systems Elements) and Module 11 (Food Safety Fundamentals for Food Manufacturing).
• Designed to provide current and new SQF Practitioners, Sr. Management, Production Personnel, and their team members with the tools and knowledge to develop and maintain their SQF food safety management system and understand the process for aligning with FSMA regulatory requirements

Who Should Attend?
SQFP, Food Safety Professionals, Sr. Management, Suppliers, Food Safety Auditors, Support Staff. Two Day Course: Wednesday, January 22nd and Thursday, January 23rd from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM each day. Price Includes event registration, morning and afternoon snack breaks, lunch for both days, course materials and certificate of attendance.

Questions? Contact Charlie Monahan at 707-256-7254 or cmonahan@napavalley.edu.

All training events require a minimum number of students and, therefore subject to cancellation 48 hours in advance of the training event. Registered students will receive an email at the time of cancellation. All fees are refundable up to 24 hours before the training event.

On-Site Private Classes in English & Spanish and Consulting Services

Classes Available in English & Spanish and Consulting Services

WE OFFER PUBLIC AND ON-SITE TRAINING CLASSES:

• HACCP Workshop
• Implementing SQF Training - Version 8.0 - English and Spanish
• FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Foods
• FSPCA For Human Food Compliance
• Produce Safety Rule Training Official Program
• SQF Quality Systems For Food Manufacturers
• Internal and External GFSI Audits
• Crisis Management
• Gluten-Free Certification Program
• SQF Advanced Practitioner Course
• Prerequisite Programs

WE ALSO OFFER:

Food Safety Consulting Services

We offer On-Site private classes in English and Spanish. Please email us for a quote: info@superiorfoodsafety.com

Register Today for January's Internal & External GFSI Audit Workshop

NAPA: Internal & External GFSI Audit Workshop - 1 Day Course

Date And Time

Fri, January 24, 2020

8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Location

Napa Valley College

2277 Napa Vallejo Highway, BLDG 3000, RM 3004

Napa, CA 94558

Register HERE

Description
In partnership with Superior Food Safety, Napa Valley College is hosting this timely and important workshop.

Through the California Employment Training Panel (ETP), Napa Valley College is able to offer a discount of $295 to qualified companies. Click on the following link - https://tinyurl.com/ybf76a6a and complete application to see if your company is eligible for an ETP discount (please note that an ETP 104 form must also be completed for each attendee from your company). After your forms are completed, please send all forms to Valerie Bible (707) 256-7250 / VBible@napavalley.edu. Once you are certified, you will receive the code to register for the ETP pricing of $180. If you are already ETP certified and need a code, please contact Valerie Bible (707) 256-7250/VBible@napavalley.edu.

Provide and improve the knowledge, skills, and abilities required by GFSI auditors, food industry professionals and internal auditors on:

• Food Safety Management Systems
• Good Manufacturing Practices and Good Agricultural Practices
• HACCP Program
• Review ISO-19011 Auditing Principles
• Gain an understanding of the GFSI schemes (SQF, BRC, FSSC2200, Global G.A.P.) from the auditor point of view

Who Should Attend? 

• SQF, BRC, Global G.A.P., Internal Auditors, Consultants and Professionals looking to register as GFSI-qualified auditors, Quality Assurance Managers, and Supervisors, Personnel involved in Production, Purchasing, Procurement, Human Resources, Harvesting, Packing, Transport, Distribution and Sales of Food Products.

MSc. Oscar Camacho has more than 28 years of experience managing food safety and quality systems. Mr. Camacho's special insights come from years of first-hand experience in the food industry, and from client weaknesses, he identified and solved while providing auditing and consulting services.

All training events require a minimum number of students and, therefore subject to cancellation 48 hours in advance of the training event. Registered students will receive an email at the time of cancellation. All fees are refundable up to 24 hours before the training event.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What if, today, we were grateful for everything?

-Charlie Brown

HACCP IN ONE CLICK: THE SMARTEST WAY TO AUTOMATE FOOD SAFETY

Superior Food Safety has partnered with Icicle Technologies Inc. to bring Icicle, a smart food manufacturing software, to the food & beverage and the growing industries.

You might believe that it somehow gets easier and faster to create HACCP plans, as well as update existing ones with new information, once you find a groove.

You’d be wrong.

Even if you delegate tasks effectively, keep all your information organized in one place, and create a regular task for updating plans, you’ll still spend countless hours getting everything prepared. That’s countless hours of finding the right documents and records, countless hours double-confirming accuracy to avoid errors, countless hours typing in new information and printing it all out — every single time something in your business changes.

There’s only one way to fight the complexity and time-consuming nature of this task: automate it.

Imagine Creating New HACCP Plans in Seconds

Let’s say you’re reformulating a line of products to replace sugar with honey as a new ingredient. Normally, this would mean a nightmare for updating all your HACCP plans — dozens of hours, at least.

But not for you. You put honey as an ingredient into your software and it automatically suggests hazards you need to include in your HACCP plan based on intelligent algorithms. Once you approve the smart suggestions and begin adding honey to all your reformulated products, the software carries over all the hazards associated with honey to each new product.

You simply click a button, and a new, accurate HACCP plan is generated with all of the relevant changes already filled in automatically for each reformulated product. You don’t have to work through hundreds of pages by hand to make sure you’ve added honey in all the right places. No need to copy and paste hazards hundreds of times.

That’s because Icicle doesn’t fill out paperwork like other food safety solutions. Instead, Icicle creates a dynamic model of your business that understands the relationship between ingredients, allergens, hazards, and regulatory requirements, helps you make those associations, and updates changes automatically through your whole system. That means that it’s not just your food safety staff who see these changes; it’s your QA manager who needs to get your vendor certifications in order, your warehouse team that needs to make sure they ship out product well before its expiration date, and even, if you grant permissions, your auditors and inspectors. Icicle’s one-click HACCP plan does it all for you.

How Icicle’s One-Click HACCP Works

Like most food manufacturers, you’re far too busy for all the work it takes to keep accurate, timely HACCP plans. Even if you somehow manage to make it work, your business growth suffers from all the lost time. Templates and tools alone can’t keep you from spending dozens of hours each month on HACCP-related work because they don’t integrate with your systems and software. You still have to do most of the hard work by hand.

Icicle takes a different approach, creating a single, interconnected ecosystem for your entire business — sales, receiving, food safety, traceability, and beyond. This fully integrated approach paves the way for one-click HACCP plans:

• Your data is universal across all connected departments. Anytime data is uploaded into the ecosystem, like new ingredients or workflows, Icicle automatically updates that data point in every other area of the business so that every department has up-to-date information, saving you hours upon hours of manual adjustments.
• Intelligent algorithms help you identify hazards. Icicle compares your operation to others in our food safety database, the largest in the world, to identify and suggest potential hazards: biological, physical, chemical, and radiological hazards that others face with similar facility types, ingredients, and process flows. This means you never start from scratch, saving massive chunks of time on hazard analysis and research.
• Then you can create HACCP plans in just one click. When everyone’s working within the Icicle ecosystem — normal day-to-day work — you have an ever-updating database that allows Icicle to simply compile your data and smart suggestions to create fully compliant HACCP plans in seconds.

And the great part is, getting your business and team setup within Icicle doesn’t take years. It takes just a couple of months.

When Villa Cappelli came to us, they had been told it an auditor would arrive to inspect their olive oil facility in just six weeks. Their artisanal operation was without a single HACCP plan. Thankfully, we were able to set up an entire HACCP program in that time. With Icicle’s dynamic templates, smart suggestions, and excellent customer support, Villa Cappelli passed their inspection with flying colors.

“Smart suggestions streamlined things and the flow charts made everything clear. This saved me a ton of time and paper. The inspection went very well. All our documents were up-to-date, making us look more professional than I think he expected.”
Steven Crutchfield, Head of Production and Product Innovation for Villa Cappelli

Like Steve quickly discovered, being able to create HACCP plans in just one click turned out to have dramatic impacts on his business. And it can for yours, too.

What One-Click HACCP Plans Mean For Business Growth

When you can create HACCP plans at the touch of a button, it’s not just your food safety program that sees impact, but every part of your business. Here are some of the areas that see the most transformation.

• Faster, easier audits and inspections. Auditors love seeing facilities that automate HACCP plan creation and updates, because it means they’re far more accurate. And when you can pull up plans, automated transparency reports, and food safety records in seconds, you can reduce inspection time by as much as 90%.
• Your customers will trust you more. Food brands love an organized manufacturing partner, and showing them how you master your food safety program takes a huge weight off their shoulders and makes you a low-risk partner.
• More resources to dedicate to growing the business. When you’re not constantly facing clerical and food safety struggles, you and your team are free to pursue the things that matter most to your business.

Take it from Felix Irnich, COO of DaVinci Gelato, who had been told it would take 1-2 years to create a HACCP program from scratch — and who we helped make on in just three months:

“On a day-to-day basis, Icicle saves probably at least one hour per person. Icicle is churning away and running smoothly. There’s no stress, no giant pile of paperwork that needs maintenance. It’s paying for itself, especially by helping us expand into other [markets] easily.”
Felix Irnich, COO of DaVinci Gelato

As regulations become more cumbersome, labor expenses rise, and customer expectations evolve, automated HACCP plan creation and updates will only become more essential. Facilities that stay the by-hand course will inevitably fall behind those who proactively set themselves up for success in this area.

And the best part? You could be making one-click HACCP plans in as soon as four weeks.

Request A Demo Today>> 

Superior Food Safety has partnered with Icicle Technologies Inc. to bring Icicle, a smart food manufacturing software, to the food & beverage and the growing industries.

Reminder - Classes Available for Registration

CLASSES AVAILABLE at Napa Valley College

November 13, 14 and 15, 2019

FSPCA Food Safety Preventive Controls for Manufacturers

Regular Price $850, ETP Price $300

January 22, 23, 2020
SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing Ed. 8.1
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

January 24, 2020
Internal & External GFSI Audit Workshop
Regular Price $475, ETP Price $180

February 20, 21, 2020
Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP)
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

March 18, 19, 20, 2020
FSPCA/PCQI Food Safety Preventive Controls for Human Foods
Regular Price $850, ETP Price $300

April 16, 17, 2020
Basic HACCP Workshop for Manufactures
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

May 13, 14, 2020
SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing Edition 8.1
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

May 15, 2020
Internal and External GFSI Audits Workshop
Regular Price $475, ETP Price $180

June 11, 12, 2020
SQF Advanced Practitioner (Registration will open in Spring 2020)
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

CLASSES AVAILABLE at Butte College Training Place

January 17, 2020 *NEW DATE

PSA Produce Safety Rule

For Price Email: The Training Place

January 29, 30 and 31, 2020

FSPCA Food Safety Preventive Controls for Manufacturers

For Price Email: The Training Place

All SQF classes are official, advertised by SQF, and provided by Superior Food Safety a SQF Licensed Training Center. 

All Food Safety Preventive Controls for Human Food classes are authorized and posted by FSPCA, and provided by Oscar Camacho a FSPCA Lead Instructor.

The fees to attend these classes are subsidized through a joint venture between Napa Valley College-Superior Food Safety and funded by ETP-Employment Training Panel Program of California.

PRICE STARTS AT $180.00 + Administrative Fees PER CLASS (See each link below for details)

Please DOWNLOAD, COMPLETE and SUBMIT the forms below to CMonahan@napavalley.edu before you begin the registration process.

Certification Application
Employment Training Panel

How Davinci Gelato Aced HACCP In Just 90 Days: A Case Study

Superior Food Safety has partnered with Icicle Technologies Inc. to bring Icicle, a smart food manufacturing software, to the food & beverage and the growing industries.

HOW DAVINCI GELATO ACED HACCP IN JUST 90 DAYS: A CASE STUDY

We spoke with Felix Irnich, COO of DaVinci Gelato, to hear about how they leveraged their food safety and traceability systems to get their gelato into stores around the country quickly. What we heard impressed us: DaVinci went from limited local distribution to being approved for sale in retail stores, HACCP plans in tow, in just three months. Here’s how the magic happened…

Meet DaVinci Gelato

Felix Irnich and his mother Yvonne. | Photo credit: St Albert Today

Felix and his mother, Yvonne, launched DaVinci Gelato in 2015 following a fire at one of their family businesses. Yvonne wanted a career shift, and this seemed like the perfect time to pursue something that truly made her happy: gelato.

She’d learned to make all-natural gelato from an Italian gelatiere over 30 years ago, and since emigrating to Canada from Germany, she’d greatly missed authentic, naturally-flavored gelato enough to decide to make her own.

"We started off with a small truck in the farmers market in St. Albert. It was the coldest day of the year with freezing rain and we still got a lot of good feedback.”

Felix Irnich, COO of DaVinci Gelato

The company outgrew the seasonal farmers market pretty quickly. DaVinci Gelato found a great partner in Famoso Restaurants, who happened to be looking for good gelato to sell. Within six months, they expanded to other restaurants and began selling their superb ice cream on a national scale. They’re further expanding their product line with their all-new Happy Hour Alcohol Gelato™, which will soon be available in liquor stores and restaurants.

Once breaking into the retail market became a goal very much within reach, their previous food safety program was no longer workable. With restaurants, they didn’t need a complex HACCP-based program – but that was all about to change.

The Challenge: Breaking into Retail Means Getting a HACCP Program Together, Fast

Retail opportunities for Da Vinci Gelato got really big, really fast. Shortly after they began to explore retail opportunities, Sobeys told them that they were ready to bring in their product – on one condition: they needed a HACCP program. This was also necessary for Da Vinci’s Gelato’s expansion into the US market, which is also underway. Felix went and found a HACCP training course and was dismayed when his instructor explained that the process would take 1-2 years to complete.

“Sobeys already wanted to carry my product – I didn’t want to wait 1-2 years. This was a huge turning point in our business; our gateway into retail.”

Felix had two main challenges ahead of him. First, there was the unexpected and urgent need for a comprehensive food safety program. Felix also knew that they needed a solution that would serve them in the long term – they needed the right solution, right now. Second, DaVinci Gelato has over 120 flavours, each with its own formulation and ingredients. A manual system of paper binders would get out of hand really quickly, so they needed a system that could also support their complex production process and scale with their stellar growth.

Davinci Gelato was ready to move into stores right then, with offers on the table. They had to find another way.

The Discovery: ERPs vs. Icicle’s Food Production Management Platform

Once Felix started looking at the ERP systems on the market, he became disheartened. As a smaller company in a rapid growth phase, DaVinci Gelato didn’t have the upfront capital to spend a quarter of a million dollars or more on big ERP systems. He started to look for other types of software, specifically Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms that can be more palatable for businesses of different sizes.

“I hate bulky systems and I don’t see any need to waste paper and manage mountains of files. I like something modern, something easy to use –- that doesn’t take a whole month to train someone to use it. My background is IT, so I have experience in evaluating software. I knew what we needed.”

Another benefit of SaaS platforms is that they are cloud-based, which makes them easier to implement since there is no need to procure computer servers or other specialized infrastructure. It also makes them easier to use remotely and across different types of devices. After much research and many conversations with others in the industry, Felix reached out to Icicle and set up a demo.

“The features in Icicle were exactly what I was looking for – when I saw Icicle automatically generate a HACCP plan, I was sold!”

The Transformation: Deploying Icicle’s Automation Technology and Employee Training

Felix worked with Icicle guru Ethan Chen to implement the software into the daily workflows of DaVinci Gelato. Since he didn’t have an existing HACCP plan, he was able to build one at the same time the software was being set up, which helped make the process very smooth.

“Ethan really helped me a lot to get everything set up. It was about a month of really nose to the grindstone kind of work to get it implemented. He has a lot of experience with food safety and also SQF, etc. I really appreciated that he was able to describe and prepare me for the experience of the audit, since I didn’t know what to expect.”

With HACCP plans clocking in at 300 pages each, Felix avoided the disaster of big paper records or giant Word documents for a product line with 120 flavours. Automatic generation of HACCP plans with all the products, ingredients, packaging, etc. in one place was “a huge relief, easily [Felix’s] favourite feature.” Icicle’s handy Smart Hazard Suggestions feature, which aggregates anonymized data to predict hazards and processes, also helped speed up the process, especially for users who are new to HACCP.

With Icicle, Felix also benefited from a streamlined system that is dynamic (meaning that one change anywhere is automatically updated everywhere else) and centralized (meaning all the information is in one system). Not only could he easily organize procedures, production runs, and more for all 120 flavours, he could also sort his products into groups like sorbets and dairy-free, which have their own requirements and are managed with Icicle’s allergen control module. On top of that, Icicle automates a huge amount of work that goes into traceability, easily tracking lot numbers across the production process to provide pinpoint precision for any potential recall.

With the software in place, it was then time to get employees onboard — and he expected pushback on the changes.

“Training was actually nice and straightforward because I can assign each person their own areas (production runs, quality checks, cleaning). I’m able to limit the scope so I didn’t have to do overwhelming training. They took to it really well. I was surprised.”

Felix also benefited from Icicle features he wasn’t looking for, like the integration of shipping, receiving, and purchasing.

“I like the flow of it,” he told us. With Icicle, he can create supplier and product price lists that are automatically integrated with purchase orders and sales orders. “I know what things are going to cost and I know what they are supposed to cost,” Felix explained. This integrated model also makes it easy to verify records, ensuring that purchase orders and items received match correctly and the same is true for sales orders and shipping records.

The Result: HACCP Certified In Just Three Months

The Irnich Family: Yvonne, Felix, and Johannes.

The real test was right around the corner. To prepare for their first audit, they spent a few days of really solid preparation to ensure that all the records were in place. One long, nine-hour day later, everything had gone smoothly.

“Our auditor loves Icicle because we can do a mock recall in 30 seconds or less – it’s so easy! Product, lot, number, bang! It was done.”

In just three months, Felix successfully created a HACCP plan, implemented it completely, and passed an audit. The transformation has extended far beyond that initial audit, positivity impacting DaVinci Gelato’s business from the ground up.

“On a day-to-day basis, Icicle saves probably at least one hour per person. Icicle is churning away and running smoothly. There’s no stress, no giant pile of paperwork that needs maintenance. It’s paying for itself, especially by helping us expand into other jurisdictions easily.”

Cherry on Top: Rapidly Expanding Retail Distribution

Local news coverage of DaVinci Gelato’s new Happy Hour™ boozy product line.

Felix isn’t settling down after securing distribution through Sobeys. He’s excited to launch their new product line, Happy Hour Gelato™, across Canada. At 5% alcohol, it’s taken nearly five years to create and get approved, and Icicle is helping him create those HACCP plans quickly and easily, with all the information he needs in a single place.

Davinci Gelato is also preparing to expand in the US with an audit in just a few weeks, but they’re not worried. Working with Icicle means that becoming FSMA-compliant is as easy as changing some language in the procedures. Everything else is already covered.

"I have recommended Icicle to other companies and will continue to do so! All the people impacted by the Safe Food for Canadians Act will need you guys – thank you!"

Felix Irnich, COO of DaVinci Gelato

Learn more about Icicle’s rapid HACCP plan generator! Check out our core features list >>>Looking for a complete food production management solution?

By Icicle

On-Site Private Classes in English & Spanish and Consulting Services

Classes Available in English & Spanish and Consulting Services

WE OFFER PUBLIC AND ON-SITE TRAINING CLASSES:

• HACCP Workshop
• Implementing SQF Training - Version 8.0 - English and Spanish
• FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Foods
• FSPCA For Human Food Compliance
• Produce Safety Rule Training Official Program
• SQF Quality Systems For Food Manufacturers
• Internal and External GFSI Audits
• Crisis Management
• Gluten-Free Certification Program
• SQF Advanced Practitioner Course
• Prerequisite Programs

WE ALSO OFFER:

Food Safety Consulting Services

We offer On-Site private classes in English and Spanish. Please email us for a quote: info@superiorfoodsafety.com

Who Should Win the Nobel Peace Prize?

They’ve saved the free world more than once. And they’re on the job preserving the peace right now. When it comes to making the world a more secure place for good and decent people everywhere, this one group deserves the bulk of the credit. Who is this group, and how can we ever thank them? Pete Hegseth, U.S. Army Major, has the answer. This video was made possible by a generous grant from Colorado Christian University.

Classes Available for Registration - 2020 Classes Added!

CLASSES AVAILABLE at Napa Valley College

November 13, 14 and 15, 2019

FSPCA Food Safety Preventive Controls for Manufacturers

Regular Price $850, ETP Price $300

January 22, 23, 2020
SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing Ed. 8.1
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

January 24, 2020
Internal & External GFSI Audit Workshop
Regular Price $475, ETP Price $180

February 20, 21, 2020
Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP)
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

March 18, 19, 20, 2020
FSPCA/PCQI Food Safety Preventive Controls for Human Foods
Regular Price $850, ETP Price $300

April 16, 17, 2020
Basic HACCP Workshop for Manufactures
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

May 13, 14, 2020
SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing Edition 8.1
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

May 15, 2020
Internal and External GFSI Audits Workshop
Regular Price $475, ETP Price $180

June 11, 12, 2020
SQF Advanced Practitioner (Registration will open in Spring 2020)
Regular Price $725, ETP Price $250

CLASSES AVAILABLE at Butte College Training Place

January 17, 2020 *NEW DATE

PSA Produce Safety Rule

For Price Email: The Training Place

January 29, 30 and 31, 2020

FSPCA Food Safety Preventive Controls for Manufacturers

For Price Email: The Training Place

All SQF classes are official, advertised by SQF, and provided by Superior Food Safety a SQF Licensed Training Center. 

All Food Safety Preventive Controls for Human Food classes are authorized and posted by FSPCA, and provided by Oscar Camacho a FSPCA Lead Instructor.

The fees to attend these classes are subsidized through a joint venture between Napa Valley College-Superior Food Safety and funded by ETP-Employment Training Panel Program of California.

PRICE STARTS AT $180.00 + Administrative Fees PER CLASS (See each link below for details)

Please DOWNLOAD, COMPLETE and SUBMIT the forms below to CMonahan@napavalley.edu before you begin the registration process.

Certification Application
Employment Training Panel

Register Now for November's FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Food Course

NAPA: FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Food - 2-1/2 Day Course #75479

Date And Time

Wed, Nov 13, 2019 Fri, Nov 15, 2019

Location

Napa Valley College

2277 Napa Vallejo Highway BLDG 3000, RM 3004

Napa, CA 94558

Register HERE

Description
In partnership with Superior Food Safety, Napa Valley College is hosting this timely and important workshop for wineries.

Through the California Employment Training Panel (ETP), Napa Valley College is able to offer a discount of $550 to qualified companies. Click on the following link - https://tinyurl.com/ybf76a6a and complete application to see if your company is eligible for an ETP discount (please note that an ETP 104 form must also be completed for each attendee from your company). After your forms are completed, please send all forms to Valerie Bible (707) 256-7250 / VBible@napavalley.edu. Once you are certified, you will receive the code to register for the ETP pricing of $300. If you are already ETP certified and need a code, please contact Valerie Bible (707) 256-7250/VBible@napavalley.edu.

Attend this 2-1/2 day course starting on Wednesday, November 13th and ending on Friday, November 15th.

Course Description - What You'll Learn:

• Meet the requirements for training under Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations Part 117.155 for the Preventive Controls “Qualified Individual”
• Learn and understand the responsibilities of a preventive controls qualified individual
• Learn How preventive controls build on established food safety principles
• Understand and identify the Components of a Food Safety Plan
• Learn how to conduct Food Safety Plan activities such as developing and reviewing a food safety plan
• Provide the necessary skills for validating preventive controls, verifying and validating process controls among others.

Three-Day Course:
Wednesday, November 13th from 8 AM-5 PM
Thursday, November 14th from 8 AM-5 PM
Friday, November 15th from 8 AM-12 PM

Who Should Attend:
Companies, especially small and medium sized, producing human foods that must comply with the Preventive Controls for Human Foods rule that is part of FSMA.

• Food Industry Senior Management
• GFSI Leads (SQFP)
• Operation and Production Managers
• Quality Assurance Managers and Supervisors
• HACCP Coordinators
• Supply Chain Management Personnel & Purchasing Managers
• Auditors
• Food Plant and Facility Managers
• Risk Management Managers
• Government and Food Regulatory Personnel
• Food Safety and Quality Management Consultants

Oscar Camacho has more than 28 years of experience managing food safety and quality systems. Mr. Camacho's special insights come from years of first-hand experience in the food industry, and from client weaknesses he identified and solved while providing auditing and consulting services.

FDA Receives Record Turnout As Industry Eager to Discuss New Era of Smarter Food Safety

Industry from the public and private sector joined for a record turnout during the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) public meeting on Monday to discuss the agency’s initiative, a new era of smarter food safety. The meeting, which was at maximum capacity for both in-person as well as webcast attendance, began with a call to action from FDA Deputy Commissioner, Office of Food Policy and Response, Frank Yiannas on the importance of all stakeholders in the industry to work together to drive the change. As Yiannas has previously commented, the food industry is in the midst of a revolution. The world is changing faster than ever, and the FDA is challenged with not just creating a safer, more technology-centric, and traceable food system, but also getting there faster and more effectively. “I’ve always believed that words we use are important,” he said. As the day’s various discussions would be around the new era of smarter food safety, Yiannas gave the audience a definition to consider: “A new era is a memorable or important date or event, especially one that begins with a new period in our history.”

FDA held breakout sessions centered on areas critical to the initiative:

• Tech-enabled traceability and outbreak response
• Smarter tools and approaches for prevention
• Adapting to new business models and retail modernization
• Food safety culture

During each session, FDA facilitators asked the audience questions. The following are some key points brought out during the breakouts.

Tech-Enabled Traceability and Outbreak Response

• FDA should consider all parts of the supply chain when thinking about traceability
• Take into account considerations for sharing sensitive data along the supply chain
• Speaking a common language and creating data standards, along with necessary minimum data elements for traceability is critical
• Better communication related to data sharing as well as more meetings with FDA and stakeholders, especially during outbreaks Show industry the ROI of the data
• Provide a roadmap or recommendation for companies on where they can begin on their traceability journey
• Request for unity across government agencies (i.e., FDA, USDA), as it would provide more clarity during an outbreak

Smarter Tools and Approaches for Prevention

• Trust and transparency are key
• Safeguards that address privacy concerns and liability
• Data
• Data sharing: Concern about retroactive investigations
• Types of data: With the “treasure trove” of existing data out there, which is the most important and helpful in improving food safety?
• Environmental assessments and root cause analysis—more dialogue between FDA and industry

Adapting to New Business Models and Retail Food Safety Modernization

• More need for collaboration
• Globalization and use of best practices
• Establishing a common standard to level the playing field
• Establish best practices for tamper resistance
• The last mile: Food safety training for food delivery personnel as well as harmonization for last mile delivery
• More consumer education

Food Safety Culture

• Emphasis on behavior and humanizing the work: Focusing on what happens within organizations at all levels
• Clarity and communication are important
• Leveraging current food safety culture best practices as well as any relevant existing standards (i.e., ISO, Codex)
• Partnerships are critical, finding the balance between compliance and collaboration

Other Factors FDA Must Consider

The FDA meeting also included panel discussions that drew out the realities FDA must consider in this rapidly changing environment. “These are exciting times and this initiative is recasting our thinking in a whole new light,” said FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition's director Susan Mayne, adding, “We need to get ahead of these challenges and not be in reactive mode.”

Consumer awareness and demands for healthy, locally sourced, and minimally processed food, for example, are creating increased pressures on food companies and retailers. In addition, the digital savvy and diverse Generation Z (the population born between 1990 and 2010, which will comprise nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population by 2020) has buying habits and a strong desire for transparency that is shifting how food companies will need to do business, according to Mary Wagner, president of MX Wagner & Associates.

“Trust represents safety, quality, and commitment on a much more personal level to our consumers,” said Dirk Herdes, senior vice president at the Nielsen Company, emphasizing the need to communicate with authenticity. “Consumers have never been more informed, but never have been more overwhelmed with information. It’s not data—it’s trust. Trust is the new currency with which we’ll operate.”

FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) also remain committed to building a stronger relationship between the agencies, said Mindy Brashears, Ph.D., deputy undersecretary for food safety at USDA. “As science moves forward, we have to allow our policies to move forward to keep consumers safe,” she added.

The comments shared during Monday's meeting, along with written and electronic comments (with a deadline of November 20), will be considered as FDA puts together its blueprint document for a new era of smarter food safety. More information about providing comments can be found on the Federal Register page.

Article Source: https://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/news/fda-receives-record-turnout-as-industry-eager-to-discuss-new-era-of-smarter-food-safety/